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Party Politics
A political podcast from two smart guys providing you with up-to-date policy and politics for your next cocktail party.
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Houston Matters
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Houston Public Media Local Newscasts
Local newscasts from Houston Public Media, updated during drive times.
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Energy & Environment
EPA awards another $500,000 grant for air-quality monitoring in Houston neighborhoods
Posted on · A grant awarded this week by the federal agency will expand air-quality monitoring in the Fifth Ward, Galena Park, Pleasantville and Sunnyside neighborhoods. Earlier this year, the EPA awarded $500,000 for air monitoring in four other communities in East Houston.
Voting
U.S. 5th Circuit orders Galveston County to redraw its political map
Posted on · The clarification from Chief Circuit Judge Priscilla Richman comes two days after the appeals court agreed to rehear Petteway v. Galveston County next May.
Traffic
TxDOT says its strategies to reduce road congestion are working. Some experts disagree.
Posted on · While TxDOT celebrates lower levels of road congestion than pre pandemic metrics, critics call the study’s methodology into question.
Crime
Spring Branch ISD police officer fatally shoots man suspected of killing his father before stealing cars outside elementary school
Posted on · A man suspected of fatally shooting his father on Thursday in the 2500 block of Mona Lee Lane was subsequently shot and killed by a school district police officer in the 2800 block of Campbell Road, after allegedly stealing two cars outside of Buffalo Creek Elementary.
Houston Matters
A 300-ton pile of oyster shells and a unique plan to restore reefs along Galveston Bay
Posted on · We learn why a Houston-area oyster company and a local restaurant are working to restore an oyster reef that they can’t harvest.
Transportation
City of Houston to expand ride-share program in Third Ward to Second Ward, other neighborhoods
Posted on · Community members are provided free rides to places like the grocery store, doctor's appointments, pharmacies, and other locations. About 30% of households in Third Ward do not have a vehicle.
Houston Matters
Do “districts of innovation” actually innovate?
Posted on · We ask former Spring Branch ISD Superintendent Duncan Klussmann to weigh in.
Food
Houston restaurants see boom after rave Keith Lee food reviews on Tik Tok
Posted on · Lee said The Puddery had the best dessert he's ever had in his life. Rating it a nine out of 10, Lee said the crunchy croissant was "immaculate," and the banana pudding left him speechless, he said.
Energy & Environment
Houston’s communities of color are hit hardest by worsening air quality, new report says
Posted on · The report from the Environmental Integrity Project found that the highest concentrations of smog in the Houston area were found near Latino, Black or lower-income communities.
Fort Bend
Fort Bend prosecutors receive first federal grant for drug court improvements
Posted on · The district attorney’s office has received nearly $900,000 in funding to help nonviolent defendants get substance abuse treatment
Polls
Majority of voters want Houston’s next mayor to focus on mental health, poll finds
Posted on · Nearly half of respondents to the poll reported experiencing some level of anxiety, depression, or both, while 80% said they want the next mayor to focus on mental health as a matter of public policy.
Texas
Climate change, costly disasters sent Texas homeowner insurance rates skyrocketing this year
Posted on · Texas rates have increased 22% on average so far in 2023, twice the national rate. More billion-dollar disasters have occurred in Texas this year than any other year on record.
Health & Science
Ransomware attack prompts multistate hospital chain to divert some ER patients elsewhere
Posted on · A ransomware attack has prompted a health care chain with operations in six states to divert patients from at least some of its emergency rooms to other hospitals.
Weather
Hail, tornadoes a potential in Houston-area storms Thursday
Posted on · The greatest area of concern for severe weather is between Houston, College Station and Columbus, with increased rainfall closer to the coast, according to the National Weather Service.
Houston Matters
Severe weather in Houston (Nov. 30, 2023)
Posted on · On Thursday's show: With potential severe weather expected in the area, we talk about what Houstonians should be prepared for and how to stay safe. And we recap the Atlantic hurricane season as it comes to an end.
Harris County
Former Lina Hidalgo staffer under indictment in Harris County seeks to void new search warrants
Posted on · Attorneys for Alex Triantaphyllis, one of three former Hidalgo staffers who have been accused of steering a lucrative government contract to a preferred vendor, claim in a motion filed Monday that new search warrants obtained in the case are overly broad and based on falsified information.
Weather
Houston area had quiet year for hurricane season, meteorologist says
Posted on · While the Atlantic Ocean was rife with activity, very few storms made their way into the Gulf of Mexico – thanks, in part, to the same conditions that ushered in this summer’s brutal heatwave.
Criminal Justice
Detention officer arrested, accused of smuggling marijuana into the Harris County Jail
Posted on · Authorities say 24-year-old Robert Robertson, who had been working with the Harris County Sheriff's Office for about six years, allegedly passed along marijuana to people in the jail. He was arrested Tuesday morning.
Fort Bend
Fort Bend small town Weston Lakes swears in mayor for second term after canceled election
Posted on · The mayor and two city council members were running unopposed, so council voted to cancel the election to save money.
Transportation
Houston officials create truck route plan, limiting 18 wheelers on certain city streets
Posted on · The city will designate certain roads as truck routes, preventing big trucks with three or more axles or weighing more than 26,000 pounds from driving on smaller streets, with the exception of deliveries being performed.